Tuesday, 26 May 2015

Creativity I feel is an innate quality that possess.
But gone are the times when it was limited to people who were born with it. Now
world has changed. Revolutionized I must say. Everything comes with a solution.
Need to learn something? No problem. Look around yourself and you will find thousands
of options waiting for you to give the solution! Feel insecure? Or have a low
self- esteem? Don’t panic, just find out the right counsellor. Want to become a
leader, but fear to stand and voice your words? Here’s the thing.. zillion
courses are available that teach you to become a leader. So the same analogy
applies to creativity! Few people are born with quality but that’s not the end.
With a little bit of research and an insight into the subject, a bit of the
chit-chat with your near and dear ones can teach you how to be creative. All you
have to do is open mind and look around.

There’s this thing with me. Anything I do, has to be
a bit different from what others prefer to do or different from what I have
done before. The idea is not to make anyone feel low, but to present something that
defines me. It gives an inner happiness, a feeling that comes when you do
things for others and them smile. And the best thing is you become the reason
behind that smile. This is one thing that drives me.. gives me the motivation
to be creative. That is just being me and is something that I cannot without.
If I'm not being creative, I'm not being me. I never knew I could write. I just loved to
express what I had in my heart and let people know what I feel for them. it was
from then, when a blogger friend of mine asked me to start my own blog (at that
time, I only use to read other blogs) and I never took his advice seriously. But
when he really pushed me, I thought to give it a shot. I wasn't much of a
writer though and wasn't regular as well. But with time, everything fell into
place and I prefer to keep it this way. In the meantime, when I wasn't writing,
I was busy bringing out my creativity in other fields :P. Whenever it comes to birthdays
or any other special occasions, all I have in my mind is to make that day the
most memorable for that person. Creativity is all about finding joy in small
gestures, finding happiness in simplest form of expressions. It is all about
embracing what you have inside and let the world know about it.

In today’s era, when everyone is tech savvy, building
creativity inside you is not difficult. Just look, research a bit, put in a
little extra effort, see how people do things and then think of something of
your own and bingo! There you are.. all wrapped in something that never existed
before and gave a complete new front! It does take a bit of courage to be
creative and experiment with your thoughts, but the results that you come up
with are worth it. Plus creativity adds style!

“She has a son of 10, yet there are so many boys out
there, still crazy for her.”

“Major”

“Yeah..!”

“This is one thing that keeps life going :P and good
that she has so much of fan following!”

“I know”

“How’s your friend Manika? How is she doing? Her
husband had a few flings and a few secret trips to Bangkok.. are they both doing
OK with each other?”

“Manika should be good. Didn’t have a word with her
from quite a long time. She found out about his affairs and caught him
red-handed as well. But what to do, where would she go?”

“Where would she go meaning? She’s OK tolerating all
the illicit relationships of her husband? Great woman man.. Had I been at her
place, I would surely have left him. I can’t take all this, no matter what!!”

“It’s easy to say than actually do it. And you
anyways talk something which is beyond the scope and is not realistic.. all of
it looks good in books and movies.. not in reality. Doing all this won’t make
you modern! Her mother died when she was 6, her father died after her wedding.
She has three brothers who are fighting among them for a piece of land and
moreover she’s just a graduate and has a daughter to feed. Where will she go? What
will she do? That’s the reason why she can’t leave her husband?”

“If she’s happy with her situation then let her be! Nobody
would care. But when she’s not, then she has to find a way for herself. And it’s
always about how much faith you have in yourself. Society will keep on closing
the ways for women and create new obstacles. She's good with the injustice happening around her?! Plus it’s not just this; it’s how
the mentality of everyone around us is. Had it been her in his place, he would
have kicked her out of the house. But questions like she’s a woman right, where
will she go, what will she do, how will she earn, that shackles the feet of a
woman”

“Things don’t work like this in real life, the way
they do in your head. So it doesn’t make sense in discussing anything with you!”

And there she
was trying to fathom what wrong did she say? Where was her thoughts all high
class or too advanced or too liberal to suggest anyone the right thing to do! I
think that is where the irony is. Everyone wants to be dependent on men and
then later when time comes, claim that their hands are tied.. that they are
helpless.. that are they going to with their life! Sad, but true!

Monday, 25 May 2015

“You know how I am when it comes to the stuff I own.
My wallet will be in one bag and my cash will be in the other! :P My shades
will be in one and lipsticks in the other and the list continues..”

“But you should take care of your stuff babe. You’re
a big girl now.. mustn't say a woman”

“I know. And I don’t understand what’s with the
glasses?! I keep losing them every now and then. Have lost around 5 of them
recently! That’s the reason why I don’t take out my favourite one. I fear I’ll lose those ones too coz
of my carelessness. You know how much did they cost me? 18 grand!”

“You should learn to take care of your stuff. What brand
are they?”

“Louis Vitton" ( and she pronounced as Loouiss Vittonn)

And there I was, eavesdropping the conversation of
two women and enjoying every bit of it!

P.S- Sometimes it’s OK to welcome the devil you have
inside and smirk a bit along with it..!! :P

Haiku is a traditional form of a Japanese poetry that consists of 3 lines, following a 5-7-5 syllable rule (first and third line 5 syllables, middle line 7 syllables). They don’t necessarily have to rhyme.

It was my first day in Pune when I saw the college
campus, the nearby area, the cafeterias, so many students, a few on bikes, a
few fagging in the corner and a few whiling away time sitting with their
friends. My mind was all blank then. I wasn't very impressed at the first sight- neither with the
campus nor with the surroundings. The only thing that took my heart was its
weather. Anyone could easily fall in love.. just like love at first sight :P

It was a weird thing that was going inside me. I was
just not able to picture myself in there, in that particular surrounding. A
part of me said that place wasn't my kind.. I won’t be able to fit in and it would
never work out. People of my age were so sinked into it and I was a total stranger..
to all of it. Fear of staying alone was getting inside me.. fear of being taken
granted for was coming to me, fear of falling down was killing me inside. But,
there was a voice that said everything will be all good in the end. That I’ll
be all soaked up by the end of the course. That this place will be my new best
friend in sometime. All I need to do is wait and watch. And have faith in
myself.

Now when I look at the college building, the campus,
it feels so familiar. A place so known. An edifice once, now gives the feeling
of a home. A building that seemed so blank once is now full of memories. Full of
lessons. Full of adventures. Full of knowledge. Full of respect. Full of heart
breaks. Full of love.. Full of pride. Full of joy. And full of uncountable
moments that would last for a lifetime. I can still not fathom how once something
seemed so foreign in the first sight became a part of one’s life. Nobody can
ever predict that. Ever. Those college days gave so much to me.

Apart from the
skills that added value, I learnt about people, their psychology, and most
important, learnt so much about myself. Who am I, what do I want, where do I need
to bring about a change in myself and above all self knowledge. The short
trips, fests, events, competitions, presentations, assignments, cases, just
everything! All the cafeterias, the bike rides, the hustle and bustle around
the campus became my daily routine! That sight of a mere building became so
much more to me than just being bricks and cement. And all of it added a new
meaning to my life. And I am happy that its meaning changed drastically.

Has it ever happened with you? Something so strange and
weird once is now something that you can’t live without? The list would be long
I guess, but drop in your comments and let me know.. J

Thursday, 21 May 2015

The moment we’re born, the only thing that people are concerned about is our gender.. a boy or a girl. And then anything that comes after this is the colour of our skin.. fair, wheatish or dark, being completely oblivious towards the child’s health. Have you ever heard people asking if the child born is healthy, in the first place? Why are people so obsessed with it the moment a child is born? And why the discrimination?

It’s not just the outsiders, it’s the mother who gets paranoid most of all. Sometimes because of her own opinions and sometimes because she’s worried about the so-called relatives.. as it is.. they’re going to comment and give a thousand natural beauty tips to improve the skin texture of the child. And thus, she becomes the prey to all the non sense that exists! Though no judgement passed for mothers!

And this thing doesn’t end in the childhood.. it continues till the child grows old, increases with age and is at its peak when one is in the youth! A child who goes to school is exposed to sun a lot many times.. morning prayers, P.T class, games in the open and at the end of an exhaustive day, when the child loses all its energy comes home.. who was blooming in the morning, is now all drawn. This is all natural to happen. But the point is, because the perpetual reminder of the dull texture is always a discussion, it affects the mind of the kid. The child learns by himself that having a dark complexion is not good.. there is a stigma attached to it and then he himself tries to avoid it all. Thus, that is what he preaches it once he becomes an adult. So it becomes a vicious circle and this cycle keeps on going.

What we adults in this can do is appreciate people, not on the basis of their colour but by the qualities they have. One might not be fair, but that doesn’t snatches away the license of being smart. Every time I see a child saying, ”Oh! I’m so dark.. I don’t look good... so and so colour don’t look good on me”, all I do is try to make them comfortable in their own skin and make them fathom this simple fact that it’s not the colour that matters, but the kind of heart they have that matters and will ALWAYS matter. That they should strive to become good individuals than just being concerned about their appearance. That they should never ever judge anyone on how they look, but how they talk, how well mannered they behave or what good can you learn from them. That they should not judge someone on how their hair look, or the figure they have, or people they hang out with but try to be the real you and true to yourself. Coz I believe we are the pillars of the coming generation and it is we who can teach these values to our children (or the other children around) and change the way society exists and treats.

They say beauty with brains is an incredible combination. But only beauty and no brains is a horrible combination! And how about brains, with beauty being secondary.. I think that would do.. and is good enough as well.. Your thoughts?

I came across these beautiful lines below and so sharing with you guys.

What’s your take on this dear friends? Have you seen any child getting paranoid over this issue? And have you helped them out then? Your opinions and suggestions are very much appreciated.

Tuesday, 19 May 2015

I got engaged to a stranger. His
family and stature in the society was indeed commendable. I was the lucky girl in town. And as far as I was concerned, I was OK with my fiancé. We didn't talk much. He worked in Canada and I in Mumbai. Timing was a bitch with us.. because of the long distance. People asked how was courtship treating me, err, how was my fiancé, err, am I
happy, err, are we getting along well.. etc etc, and I stayed mum to such
questions. What was I suppose to say anyway? We barely conversed with each
other. There was no friendship between us, and people were bothered about love. I remember the day we met
the first time. He was a handsome looking man and I loved every bit of it.
Well I'm not the one who has the best figure in the world or the best eyes or
the best hair, if he was expecting that. All I had was my heart.. clean and pure.. to give it to him. Our
rendezvous was good. Later, that evening, when things got fixed up, he said he liked me. I was ecstatic. He said I had a good skin and I was fleshy and that he loved fleshygirls. I adored him.. not for cajoling me, but for being who he was and above all being
honest with me! I respected him.

My acquaintances japed me every
now and then and were curious enough to know what chemistry did we share.. what
was going on between us.. how were we like with each other or how exactly were couples
like when they newly find each other and how crazy do they get about each other.
I found all of it very amusing. Not all the couples are like the clichéd love
birds that we see around us all the time! There was always a fear in my heart..
Was I with the right person, was I listening to my heart, is arranged marriage
a great idea in the first place? All these questions gave me lot of sleepless nights. It was all so formal between us.. no emotional bonding at
all. I already had one failed relationship and thus did not have the time,
courage and patience to handle another one and thus settled with the idea of
arranged marriage.

Post marriage, he was suppose to stay in India for a while. All the formalities related to VISA and stuff would be completed in the meantime. And then we were suppose to
fly together.. to Canada.

Everything was good on our
wedding day. I was happy. He seemed happy. He seemed excited as well. After
all the rituals and ceremonies next day, we were required to be with each
other.. united as two bodies and one soul. I was scared.. nervous I guess. He planted a soft kiss on my lips, taking me in his arms, making me melt from top
to bottom. It was a perfect moment. And then someone knocked the door. It
was something urgent. He had to go out. I kept waiting for him and didn't realize when I felt asleep. Next morning, I saw him by my side, curled up
in himself. I asked him what went wrong and he chose to stay quiet. I thought
it must be stress or tiredness. I ignored it. The next day I got the
news that he had to leave next week to Canada. Urgent work. Another
project had come up. And I would join when I’ll be done with the VISA
formalities. I was heartbroken. Everybody loved me in the house, but I craved for his love.
What I didn't get was what went wrong the moment he left the room. After that, he became a total stranger. His mood changed. His expressions changed. His body language changed. Everything between us changed!

My skin was nice and clear
when we met, but at the time of our marriage, I started having zits all over my
face. Plus everyone in the house.. you know how it is with a newly wedded
bride. Every tom, dick and harry scans from head to toe, from the way she walks
or how she talks or how she looks or how are her hair or how slim is
her waist and what not! It was obvious my pimples couldn't escape those eagle
eyes. And he on the other end was the perfect man every girl would dream of.
But fretting over skin was impertinent I guess. I tried like zillion times to
know what was going in his head, why was he not talking to me, why was ignoring me, why was he not loving me?!

It was the night before he had
to leave.

Him-“ Care for a drink?”

Me- “I don’t mind”

Him- “Good”

Me-“ Hmmm”

Him-“ So you had a boyfriend?!”

Me- “No.. I didn’t”

Him-“ Yes. You did”

The
wine was flowing into our glasses and both of us were losing our control

Him- “He must have left you, or
probably dumped you.. That’s the reason why you chose to marry me. Isn't it?”

Me-“ That is not true. Did you
had a girlfriend?”

Him-“ If I’d had one, I’d rather
marry her than anyone else on earth. I'm not ones who give up easily. I get
what I want to get”

Me-“If you have so much of the
issue with me, then why did you marry me?”

Him-“ Because I didn't know about it then.
Had I known, I would never have married you”

All the words that he said to
me, pierced my heart. It pricked me.
It hurt me. I was left in tears and had nothing to say. He slept on the
couch. And I lied awake all night. He left next day and asked me to come soon.
And here I am.. staying with his family. Waiting for him and his so called
calls. Trying to gain all the strength and confidence to face when we meet. To give
the answers to all the unsaid questions he had. To defend myself and accept the fact
that it’s OK if I had someone in my life before he became the ONE. A failed
relationship is not that big of a deal and I choose to love him and stay loyal to him all my life. Isn't this enough? what’s
done is done. I know any other woman at my place would have left him by now. But I feel, it's all anger that him do all of this. I believe when we talk next, it will all be sorted.

Saturday, 16 May 2015

“I don’t want to utter a single
word to them, and you just stay out of this, as it is not your business to
interfere , plus I’ve tolerated enough of their non sense and I don’t want to
be friends with them!”, shouted Devina at her husband Sujeet.

“Listen to me, the way you’re
talking to me, to them, is not right.. and that’s not how you should behave..
after all it was all your fault”

“You’re getting on my nerves.. Just get lost and leave me alone”, Devina screamed again and left
the corridor, leaving the resting of the crowd flabbergasted!

“But you know how we've tried
talking to her, and then her behaviour, screaming and shouting, we don’t come
from a family who does such things..
all we intended to do was try to sort out the matter and not make a public
issue about it.. Please teach her some basic human etiquettes”, explained

Samaira (Devina's colleague) to Sujeet and left, making him
realize it was his wife who was at fault!

This is a collection of 11 tales inspired
from various shades and areas of life. Some are real incidents inspired by the
observations and life incidents of people. This book is an attempt to get a
greater insight about human emotions and how they react when they have to face
the situation.

While some stories carry a
lighter tenor, others show varied side of human psyche and relationships as
seen from a different angle. The collection can be enjoyed by readers of any
age group.

Author

Ankita
Sharma is an entrepreneur
based in Faridabad (Haryana), India. She is passionate about writing, reading
and sketching. Her sketch works have appeared on the cover page of a few
titles. She loves nature and is fond of animals. You can read her blogs at www.hummingwords.blogspot.in

Cover

The subtle pink cover of the book
is simple and apt with the content of the book. Simple, sober and meaningful.
The title of the book is one of the story in the book and the grounds on which
the story focuses is something that we all need to look around ourselves and
identify. The title couldn’t have been better. The green leaves on the cover
page is again inspired from one of the stories inside. The various sizes of the
building reveal that diversity of humans and their perceptions that exist in
our society. The rare image is also very apt and connected inside. Overall the
cover is perfect and soothes one’s eyes.

Plot

The book contains stories based
on our everyday lives and all of us can easily relate with the point that the
author has come up with. It is all a part of one’s psyche and relationship
with others and society. The title story Wedding
Trousseau highlights the ubiquitous relationship that almost every arrange
marriage in India faces, yet everyone is ignorant towards it or may be choose
to BE ignorant towards it considering that is how it is suppose to be. The
entire meaning of marriage is overlooked in the facade of glitz and glamour.
The books throws spotlight on humour, love, adventure, disappointment,
arrogance, dejection, anger, sympathy, surprise, fear and many emotions in
every story.

Highlights

The language of the book is
simple and clear. The description and the revelation of emotions are a true beauty
of the book. Every chapter leads one to do some thinking and encourages to take
some action against the injustice happening around all of us. The narrative
style makes the conversation realistic and interesting to read. The flow of
language is smooth and is easy to comprehend.

Improvements

Every story is worth reading but
a few of them lose their track and appear incomplete in the end, lacking a
conclusion.

My
Take:

Buy your copy and enjoy the vivid
descriptions and vibrant imagination. Get ready to feel the mix of reality and
fantasy and discover the various shades of human psychology. An applaud and a
thumbs up from my side for the book.

“The
first few weeks were full of excitement and the joy, as they usually are when
the dove of youth realizes its wings and takes pleasure in soaring the skies of
intimacy in full swings”

One of the few lines that touched
my heart!

Rating

3.5/5

Thank
you

Thank you so much Ankita for
giving me the honour of doing a book review for you. I love what you
write. All the very best for your book
and for many more to come!!!

Friday, 8 May 2015

Work and A to Z Challenge kept me
real busy the last two months and so couldn’t update my reflections. March
welcomed me with a holiday in the first week and it was totally an incredible
experience. We went to Goa. It was my first visit to the city and I loved every
bit of it. The beaches, the people.. it’s like mini Phuket except for a few
differences it was all the same. We went with two more couples and it did a
great deal of learning. For both us. So it was us, another couple who left
their children home and a couple who got their kids. Overall trip was fun. It
was the first time we didn’t argue with each other. And we realized a hell lot
of things about kids, making our plans NOT to have them anyt ime soon even stronger:
P.I think it is all about the right amount of
space that one needs to give to their partner and acceptance of each other as
individuals. We both have sinked in with each other on this and that is why
less of conflicts! There are a lot many people out there who think we really
need to work on our marriage, or it doesn’t look like we’re newly married,
blah.. blah.. well, to me, what is more important is the comfort level that a
couple shares than how they behave publicly or display public attention. We
visited quite a few places and made the most of the required break. Coming back
from Goa, I stayed home for two days and then went to my hometown.

Most of the times, it’s always a
relaxing thing to be at your place but this time it wasn’t like that. My
parents are renovating the house so we had to shift to another place
temporarily. I deliberately wanted to go to my parents then, so as to help them
out with the shifting thing, plus I had a break from my classes as well. March
passed by in a glimpse. And then it was April.. started with the birthday
celebration of my husband. I baked a cake for him and I’m glad it turned out
well. Everybody loved it. We had dinner with a few close friends. Here is the
picture of the cake I baked JJ

Entire March, I was worried about
how will I go about in April with the writing challenge. I have never ever been
that religious with my writing, err, my blog! April taught me that real well
and I plan to keep it that way. I tried real hard to write before hand and
schedule, but nothing of that sort worked. So all the posts were random. I’m
sure next year’s going to be even more exciting and full of learning. As the
exams were heading, number of classes also increased and became quite regular.
But everything got managed real well. It did become handy to blog, but the
extra pain that I took was totally worth it! I discovered a lot more about my
writing. I tried my hands on fiction. I won’t say it was super amazing, but it
wasn’t that bad as well. And this is the place where I learn the most and
discover myself. And in the end of the month, I received the best thing as a teacher. “Ma’am,
we’ll really miss you”..! This was what made everything special. As the last of
the month, I was suppose to travel, I knew I won’t be getting time further,
therefore, I wrote the post early morning, on the way to the airport and headed
towards another two day break. The details of which will be disclosed next
month.

That was all about these last two
months. Weather is hot as ever. Waiting for the rains to get started.

How did the previous month treat
you? And how is the weather at your end? Would like to share? Please drop in
the comments box. Till then..